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The legalization of recreational marijuana appears poised to sweep across the Northeast, which could result in billions of dollars of business opportunities over the next few years in a densely populated region of the nation.

The Maryland General Assembly is back in session, and the state’s education needs could mean that cannabis legalization will be a major policy contender in 2019. Several lawmakers recently voiced their concerns about Maryland’s education funding — or lack thereof — and some are weighing all viable options to get the necessary resources.

While not quite a done deal, Maryland-based Flying Dog Brewery plans to launch a THC-infused beer in medical cannabis dispensaries in Maryland. Flying Dog is looking to get in early on the infused beverage sector, which some of the latest reports show will be worth $600 million by 2022 in the U.S.

With the recent introduction of the 420 bill in the U.S. House of Representatives, cannabis advocates will learn sooner rather than later just how enthusiastic Democrats are about legalizing marijuana at the national level.

In a historic landmark decision that will save Harborside and the legal cannabis industry millions of dollars, the U.S. Tax Court has ruled that the California dispensary is not liable for accuracy-related 280E penalties. 280E is a tax code provision that denies all standard business deductions to businesses whose operations “consist” of activities that violate the Controlled Substances Act.

As reported by Salem, Oregon publication The Statesman Journal, via Marijuana Moment, Oregon is on the verge of introducing a game-changing bill that would allow the state to export its dried cannabis to other legalized states. Democratic Sen. Floyd Prozanski already has signaled his support for the proposal, which is being spearheaded by Adam Smith, the executive director of the Craft Cannabis Alliance.

If the bill were to become law, it would give Oregon’s wholesalers the ability to export cannabis to other states that have legalized the drug, such as neighboring Washington, California, and Nevada. However, it would strictly forbid the export of marijuana through states where the drug remains illegal, such as neighboring Idaho.

As legalization kicked into high gear in 2018, many small companies were gobbled up. Read why one law firm feels 2019 will be full of merger and acquisitions in the cannabis industry. Link to story below: http://bit.ly/2Rb7e7Z

Kick off 2019 with these insights from Marijuana Business Daily. Marijuana professionals will have an abundance of business opportunities, questions and challenges on their radar in 2019. What follows is an overview of nine of the most important. Link to story: http://bit.ly/2AxbdRV